The present invention relates to precut, preshaped adhesive tape strips or members for application to an upper eyelid to retain a fold in the skin thereof, an applicator device for facilitating placement of such an adhesive member on the skin surface of the eyelid, and a method for use of the tape strip in nonsurgically taking a tuck in loose skin, such as at the upper eyelid.
A cutaway drawing through the upper eyelid is shown in FIG. 1. The upper eyelid, generally indicated as 10, moves down over the eyeball 12 when the eyes are closed, and retracts over the cornea 14 to expose the iris 16 and pupilary opening 18 when the eye is open. The skin of the upper eyelid 10 along the ciliary margin 20 is held relatively rigid by a thin strip of cartilage known as the tarsal plate 22. The skin above the ciliary margin 20 is thin and supple and tends to fold at what is referred to as the supra tarsal fold 24.
Particularly as part of the natural aging process, the skin of the upper eyelid can sag or droop into positions such as those shown ghosted and labelled 26 in FIG. 1. The result is a bagging or festooning of the upper eyelid as shown in FIG. 2. A similar condition occurs naturally in the eyes of many persons of Oriental extraction due to a difference in eye physiology.
When the natural or developed droop reaches the lower ghosted position 26 of FIG. 1 adjacent the eyelashes 28, several things can happen. First, the actual vision above the horizontal can be affected. That is, merely rotating the eyeball 12 in an upward direction does not provide a view in that direction since the line of vision is covered by the drooped portion 26 of the eyelid 10. Even without the reduced vision, the natural puffiness and droop in the non-Oriental eye tends to make the associated eye (and, therefore, the person) look older. Additionally, in women, it can interfere with the application of eye makeup.
Statistically, there are at least 44 million women over the age of 40 in the United States alone. It can be assumed that a drooping condition such as that shown in FIG. 2 is of some bother to at least a substantial portion of them. The condition can be corrected surgically in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. And, in fact, several hundred thousand people a year have the procedure shown therein performed to alleviate the condition. As shown in FIG. 3, a strip 30 of the upper eyelid 10 is surgically removed along with some of the fat beneath the strip 30. The sides of the wound are then sutured together as shown in FIG. 4, thus removing a portion of the excess skin above the upper eyelid 10 thereby removing the droop shown in FIG. 2. Such a procedure is referred to as an upper blepharoplasty.
The above-described procedure is neither inconsequential nor inexpensive. For most of the persons afflicted with drooping eyes such as that shown in FIG. 2, the condition remains one of annoyance either due to lack of funds for the surgery or a lack of desire or willingness to have the surgery itself.
Wherefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a tape strip member and applicator device therefor and method for providing a non-surgical temporary pseudo upper blepharoplasty.
An object of the invention is to provide an adhesive strip member for effecting a temporary pseudo upper blepharoplasty and an applicator device facilitating the placement of such an adhesive tape member on an eyelid.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of applying an adhesive strip member to an eyelid for non-surgically taking a tuck in the loose skin of the eyelid.
Another object of the invention is to provide an adhesive strip member including a thin pliable transparent backing material and adhesive carried on opposite side surfaces of said backing material, said backing material and adhesive being cut and shaped to a predetermined configuration to be compatible with the three dimensional skin surface configuration of an eyelid and folds of skin to be formed therein.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an applicator device for facilitating the placement of such an adhesive strip member on the skin surfaces of an eyelid, said applicator device including a handle portion of generally stiff material and an applicator portion laterally offset from the handle portion, the applicator portion having a release material on a strip receiving surface thereon for cooperation with the adhesive on the adhesive strip member.